I hate to admit it, but I’ve only used word clouds with some of my students. I wasn’t really sure how to use word clouds when I first heard about them, so I only selected a few individuals that I thought would benefit from using it. Mostly to help them in their writing. You see, when the idea of word clouds was presented, I was only showed a website and was allowed about 3-5 minutes to “explore” it. The more I read, the more I found out how helpful they can be.

So what types of things can you do with word clouds? I know I won’t even begin to touch on everything, but here are a few ideas on how they can be used with your students.

1. When students have finished a piece of writing and they need to check for redundant words, put them on Wordle.net. The best part about Wordle is that it counts the number of times the words are used and makes the highest count the biggest in the cloud. That way, students see how many times they have used words like then, I, me, and so on. This is how I used them in my classroom, and it really makes the students aware of the overused words.

2. At the beginning of the year, allow students time to write an “About Me” paragraph and then type it into a word cloud creator such as Tagxedo. This is another word cloud site that easily downloads the image you create and has an assortment of shapes for your words.

3. After students read a passage or discuss content in class, allow students to write down the words they feel are most important to the lesson and put it into a word cloud.

4. Use a word cloud for vocabulary words. This can be used in any subject!

5. Use math vocabulary words in a word cloud and ask students to come up with a mathematical story using the words. Great way to combine some writing and math!

6. In Social Studies, create a word cloud using character traits of various leaders or important historical figures.

7. For a Mother’s or Father’s Day project (or anytime, really), allow students to make a word cloud as a gift. This could be with characteristics of the

person, a thank you letter, a poem…you name it!

8. Students could actually draw their own word clouds as an activity to “fill time” when they get finished early. They will probably end up doing this on their own, anyway. It’s sort of addicting.

9. Use Wordle to create a word cloud with units of measurement. I say use Wordle because you can decide how big or small you make the words. This way students would get an accurate picture of which units of measurement are bigger than others.

Word Cloud by ABCya

10. Use word clouds at the end of the lesson or day to see what the students remember. The teacher can either assign a certain amount of words, or the students can write as many important words as they can at the end of your time together. This could be a neat twist to exit tickets!

Now that I’ve written about all of this, I will have to do some of these before school starts. I’m excited to begin another new year! I will post some of my results!

“What’s in the box?” “I wonder what’s in there this time!” “Can I be first to figure it out?”

These are quotes from children who are anxious to find out what is inside the mystery box. Many times I stand at the door and let the students put their hands inside for about 3 seconds before entering the room. Other times I walk around the room and let students feel inside one by one and use a word to describe what is inside. I’ve used the Mystery Box in many different ways, but one thing is the same every time: student engagement!

THE Mystery Box

Principals always want to walk into our classrooms and see students “actively engaged” in their learning. I’ve heard that phrase MANY times over my short career as a teacher. The fact is: Not every lesson is engaging. Sometimes we are forced to teach the “boring stuff” because it’s what the state mandates.

However, I have found a way to make some of those snoozers a lot more eye opening. (Pardon the pun!) The answer? That Mystery Box you see in the picture. Sometimes it takes just the simplest tweak of a lesson to make it more engaging for all involved. And it’s one of those things that the kids continue to enjoy throughout the year. It’s not something that they groan about–they get so excited when they see it come off the shelf.

How I made it:

I bought a hat box, a feather boa, black material, black foam sheet, and stickers at Hobby Lobby. Before covering the box, I cut a 3.5″ x 3.5″ square in the center of the lid. Then I covered the box and the lid with the material. After that, I cut a circle to fit inside the bottom of the lid (for sturdiness) out of the foam and glued it in. Once it dried, I took my exacto knife and cut an X in the lid where I had cut out the square. You will be cutting the material and the foam at the same time. This is where the students will be able to put their hands inside. When I was finished with that, I cut the boa into smaller pieces and glued it around the edge of the lid and more around the X on the top. The last step was to decorate it with stickers.

I’m sure many of you out there have used similar techniques in your classrooms. How does it work for you? Do you see that the students are more engaged? I would love to hear your stories! And if you haven’t tried it yet, let me suggest it! You might just be surprised to see how much the level of interest increases in your room!!